


Returning the Favor

by Hashtagmavin



Category: Rooster Teeth/Achievement Hunter RPF
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-10-06
Updated: 2013-10-06
Packaged: 2017-12-28 13:44:36
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,027
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/992653
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hashtagmavin/pseuds/Hashtagmavin
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Once Gavin realizes that he has feelings for Michael, he knows he needs to stop interacting with him before it becomes known.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Returning the Favor

**Author's Note:**

> Originally posted on Hashtagmavin.tumblr.com on May 13 2013  
> Prompt: "WRITE THE SAPPIEST MOST ROMANTICALLY CLICHE MAVIN THAT YOU CAN MAN. DO IT."

Michael and Gavin didn’t fight often.

If they did, it was usually more humorous than aggressive. Michael would be screaming at Gavin for being a moron, and he’d just laugh uncontrollably along with the others.

Usually it would be about Gavin’s idiotic babblings, Michael playing a mean prank on him, or messing around with somebody in a video game.

Everybody knew it was all for fun, and the fans certainly loved their chemistry, so it just seemed like a smart idea to fight more often. It was entertaining for everybody, including them. So what’s that harm?

Michael liked screaming at Gavin until his face turned red with anger. Those stupid squeaks that left his mouth when he was laughing too hard and couldn’t get air in. The way he’d giggle manically after it was all over, and it would send Michael in a rage all over again.

Gavin liked seeing Michael get so worked up over something as simple as pouring lava on top of his house in Minecraft. It seemed like the guy could get angry over  _anything_ , and it was so much fun to see how far he could push those limits until he snapped entirely. And since the arguments were all in good fun, their friendship would never break over it.

But soon things began to change.

 

First it was Gavin who began to notice it. He’d start to annoy Michael just a little bit more often. When he realized the older boy hadn’t paid any attention to him in a while, he’d change that simply by being the pesky little nuisance he always was.

And when he noticed the pattern, he started to worry. Maybe he enjoyed watching Michael get angry a little  _too_ much. But there was no harm in that, right? When he purposely got under Geoff’s skin, he liked to watch the man get angry and complain. But with Michael it was different, and Gavin knew it.

Because soon he started watching Michael even when he wasn’t angry.

It became an annoying subconscious hobby. He’d be daydreaming, not really looking at anything particular, but when he snapped out of it, he’d realize he was staring at Michael. Thankfully nobody else seemed to notice. But Gavin still scolded himself for it.

Months passed before he finally came to the obvious conclusion. Gavin Free _liked_  Michael Jones. And it scared him to no end.

So he attempted to withdraw altogether. He stopped pestering Michael so much, and stopped hanging out with him so often. Not enough that anybody would notice immediately, but just enough to put a stop to this stupid puppy crush he developed.

In Gavin’s head, this was the perfect solution. Dampening all interactions with him would be the easiest way to get over him. After all, it was the fighting, arguments, and silly banter that got him so infatuated in the first place.

But it wasn’t just the arguing. Gavin soon began noticing little things about Michael that he liked. He’d find himself looking at Michael and thinking  _I really like his hair today_  or  _Michael has the nicest eyes_. Hearing these thoughts often resulted in him wanting to smack himself upside the head. He shouldn’t be thinking these things about his friend.

He and Michael were only friends. Best friends. No romantic feelings in the slightest.

The more he said it to himself, the more it sounded like a lie.

But nobody else noticed. They didn’t see Gavin pulling back whenever Michael started to yell at him, or agreeing with Michael so that they wouldn’t bicker as much.

Nobody noticed except for Michael.

Michael would start yelling at him for dying or messing up his game play. And he was disappointed in how the boy would respond. He wouldn’t laugh knowingly, or argue back that he didn’t do anything. He’d just give out a small chuckle of recognition before changing the subject or talking to somebody else in the recording.

Was Gavin sick of him? Did he  _do_  something to piss him off that much?

What the fuck was going on in that stupid British head of his!?

The quiet was so frustrating. It was like he was fighting with a brick wall. He couldn’t tell anybody else about it because they didn’t seem to notice. Gavin was acting normal towards them. Still being the idiotic goofball he always was.

The only response he could come up with was to fuss over the simpler things Gavin would do. Get angrier, yell louder, and threaten him with more physical violence.

But it didn’t make any difference. Gavin would still react in the same way, no longer giving him the satisfaction of fighting back or giggling at the fact that his attempts to annoy him were successful.

The worst part was that he couldn’t figure out why. Did he say something that went over the line? Did Gavin just hate him? Did he lose him as a friend altogether?

"Holy fuck, Gavin! Are you seriously that goddamn stupid!?" Michael screams at him.

The guys all laughed like usual, but the boy in question still didn’t respond like normal. How long has it been since they’d had that interaction? Weeks? It was like Gavin just flipped a switch that made him monotone towards those situations.

"Sorry, Michael!" Gavin says.

That voice made him snap his head to look at him in confusion. He spoke. Usually he’d just brush it off and not care, but this time Gavin said sorry.

And even when Gavin noticed him staring in disbelief, he still didn’t look away.

The only thought going through Gavin head was ‘ _damn it.’_ The way Michael was staring at him was frightening. He looked so confused and angry. And all the Brit could do was watch him back, but with a more concerned expression on his face.

As Michael was trying to figure out Gavin, Gavin was doing the same thing to him.

He knew that Michael was starting to catch on. Hearing him getting progressively more angry was starting to make him feel bad, but if he continued to give him the reactions he wanted then his feelings would eventually become really obvious.

Gavin doesn’t consider himself to have a good brain-to-mouth filter. What if he accidentally says something when they’re being all silly and acting all cutesy for the fanbase. The guys are usually good at differentiating between if something is serious or if it’s just a joke.

It’s not a chance that Gavin’s willing to take.

"Hey, Gavvy Wavvy?" Michael asks a few more minutes into the Let’s Play.

"What is it, Michael?" he responds, as he kills another creeper.

He couldn’t full out ignore Michael, especially during a recording. The other guys might catch on and start asking questions.

"Are you still coming over to my apartment tonight for drinks?" he asks, looking over at Gavin from his desk.

_Bullocks_ , Gavin thinks. Michael’s just saying this now to trap him, and he knows it judging by the challenging look in his eyes. He’s practically daring him to say “I have no idea what you’re talking about, Michael.” Because he knows that it won’t end well for him, especially if they want to keep this weird situation under wraps.

"Yeah, of course, my little Michael." he forces himself to smile, "I’ll bring the bevs!"

"Damn right you will." Michael smirks, knowing that now he’s going to be able to confront Gavin about his odd behavior all week.

Then the guys make a joke about how their probably going to do gay shit to one another and everybody laughs before moving on to making fun of something else.

_I’m screwed_ , Gavin thinks.

*

He’s been at Michael’s apartment now for about three hours. They’ve just been playing video games, eating pizza, and drinking.

"Kill him, Gavin! Cover me!" Michael yells, screaming his words at the television screen.

Gavin lets out a loud laugh and accidentally shoots Michael’s character instead.

"You idiot! We were so close!"

Michael’s not as drunk as Gavin is, not by a long shot. This is all a part of his plan. He knew that he’d never get anything out of his boy if he just confronted him about it when he was completely sober.

"You know I’m horrible at this game, Michael!" Gavin laughs as they watch the words "Game Over" dance across the screen.

"Fuck." Michael curses, "You’re a real moron."

Gavin just laughs once again, and it’s probably loud enough to get complaints from the neighbors, but he’ll worry about that later. Right now he’s just happy to be spending time with his boy where he’s acting normal. Just like old times.

Michael’s been worried that maybe something’s been seriously bothering Gavin, and now that he’s been drinking, it might be a good time to ask him about it. That is what the whole point of inviting him over was, after all.

"Hey, Gavin?"

"Yeah?"

"What’s up with you lately?" Michael decides to just cut straight to the chase, and he’s looking him straight in the eyes, refusing to back down.

Gavin was sober enough to know that this conversation was coming up. The entire night seemed to be leading up to this, and he knew that it probably wasn’t going to go over well.

He planned on just giving him some bullshit excuse about how he’s been homesick or not feeling well. But he’s since decided against it. Michael’s usually really good at telling if he’s lying, especially if he’s had a few. So dodging the question is the only option he’s got left.

"Nothing. We gonna play this level again? Because I think it’d work a lot better if you shot them while I-"

"Gavin." Michael states in a stern tone, "Don’t change the subject."

"I’m not, I just really want to get back to playing the game."

He clicks the button on his controller that will restart the level, but it’s taken out of his hands by Michael. When Gavin looks up he sees an annoyed face staring back at him, and it makes him want to back away a little.

"Seriously, Gavin. Tell me what’s going on."

"I told you, it’s nothing."

"No, it’s not. You’ve been acting really strange for the past two weeks now. And it’s pissing me off."

"No I haven’t." Gavin mumbles under his breath, refusing to look Michael in the eyes. But he doesn’t pay any attention to it.

"You’ve been so distant from me lately. Have I said or done anything stupid? Because if I have I’m sorry, man."

Gavin finally meets his eyes and notices that they’re filled with worry. How could Michael even  _think_ that this was his fault? If it’s anybody’s fault it’s Gavin’s because he can’t control his emotions like a normal human being.

"No, no, of course not!" he protests, "You haven’t done anything!"

"Then what is it? I know there’s a reason!"

"I…I don’t want to tell you."

Damn, he didn’t mean to say that. He didn’t want to admit that there was actually something wrong. Now he’s going to have to come up with other excuses on the spot if Michael continues to question him.

"Gavin, you know you can tell me anything, right? You’re my boy."

And he’s not sure exactly what happened next. But all he remembers is that when he looked back up at Michael’s face and saw the concern and worry in his eyes, he just threw all common sense out the window. Seeing Michael actually care about him just overflooded him with all of those pent up feelings that he’s been trying so hard to ignore.

Without even realizing it, he leans forward, puts his hands on both sides of Michael’s face, and kisses him.

His lips are just as soft as Gavin’s imagined them to be, but he doesn’t have time to notice anything other than that, because the kiss only lasts about three seconds. As soon as he realizes what he’s just done, he immediately jumps away from Michael and backs away a little on the couch.

"Oh my gosh, I am  _so_ sorry, Michael!” he states, feeling his eyebrows raise in shocked worry.

What was he thinking!? God, he’s such an idiot! He needs to go home and drink until he can’t see straight, and then bang his head against the wall a million times.

Oh, God. Michael must hate him now. He takes a moment to study his face, and sees that the only emotion that’s being portrayed is shocked confusion.

If Gavin thought that Michael must realize his feelings earlier, then he’s in for hell now.

"Gavin-" Michael starts, but he’s immediately cut off by the others rambling.

"Please don’t hate me, Michael! I’m so sorry, I’ve had a few too many and I’m obviously not thinking properly. I really didn’t mean to kiss you like that!" he babbles, "I’m just going to go."

He stands up from the couch quickly and makes his way to the front door. All he can do during this is scold himself for being such an idiot.

Michael doesn’t say anything, but stands up and grabs his hand to stop him in his tracks.

"Gavin, stop." he states.

Gavin musters up all of the courage he has in him and turns around to look at him. He sighs, and begins mentally preparing himself for a verbal lashing from the older boy.

_This_ is why he’s been trying to keep all of his feelings a secret and pretending that they don’t exist. Because his brain is stupid and doesn’t understand the difference between doing something and thinking something.

"Why didn’t you tell me?" Michael asks quietly, his hand still holding Gavin’s tightly so that he won’t bolt. It seems to be working, but he knows if he lets go that Gavin will run out of his house before he can stop him.

"I…I didn’t want to ruin our friendship?" he says, but the upward inflection on the end makes it sound more like a question. It’s mainly just because he doesn’t want to say something that’s going to make Michael angrier than he already is.

But…Michael doesn’t really look at that angry. He actually looks pretty calm. Still a little surprised and confused, of course. But calm. Not like he’s about to rip off Gavin’s head for kissing him.

That just makes Gavin even more worried though. At least if Michael was showing emotions then he would know how to react to this situation.

Everything’s quiet for a few moments, and he begins to get uncomfortable when Michael just continues to stare at him, as though he’s trying to figure something out.

"I’m sorry." he begins wiggling his hand in an attempt to shake Michael’s grip off so that he can leave. He never did react well in uncomfortable moments like this. "I’m an idiot and I let my emotions get the better of me. I shouldn’t have kissed you and it’s all my fault that you hate me now."

He can’t stop rambling, but Michael’s word make him cease talking.

"I don’t hate you." he says, shaking his head softly.

"You…You don’t?"

Gavin’s eyes widen when he feels Michael pull him in and begins wrapping his arms around his neck. And the briefly familiar feeling of Michael’s lips is back on his again.

This time he’s the only one surprised. He’s struck between wanting to push away and question what is going on at the moment, and pulling Michael closer and kissing him back.

After a few more seconds the logical side kicks in and he moves away a little. Michael’s arms don’t loosen around his neck though.

"Mi-Michael, what’s-"

"I don’t hate you." he repeats, his nose practically touching Gavin’s, "Is this why you’ve been acting distant? Because you  _liked_  me?”

"I guess." Gavin mumbles quietly, trying to keep his cheeks from burning with embarrassment.

Michael smirks and rolls his eyes, “You’re a moron.”

He sees that Michael’s about to go back to kissing him, and he knows that (as much as he wants to) he can’t let it continue. After putting his two hands on Michael’s chest, Gavin lightly pushes him away.

And because he’s a gentleman, and not a wild animal, he respects Gavin’s need to distant himself at the moment, and backs away.

"You just kissed me." Gavin states.

"Yeah, you did the exact same thing to me a few seconds ago." Michael states, and then smirks, "I was returning the favor."

"B-But-"

"I like you. Okay?" he says straightforward. Michael always was better at outright stating his feelings. Gavin was jealous of the fact that he seemed to have no fear of rejection or of getting ridiculed.

He’s beginning to get frustrated that Gavin still seems confused and doesn’t understand.

But it’s just such a huge shock to him. Michael likes him back!?

To be honest, Michael hadn’t exactly noticed his feelings until just now, when Gavin first kissed him. It was like all of those emotions were hiding and refusing to let themselves known, and then the amazing feeling of Gavin’s lips against his (however brief it may have been) was just too incredible to ignore.

All of those hidden feelings just came bursting out in that short amount of time, and even though he was still sort of baffled by all of this himself, he knew that it felt right.

"I…I like you too." he stutters nervously. Usually beer would help him stop acting so shy and embarrassed about things like this. Gavin looks down at his feet, feeling his face go red and not wanting Michael to see that.

"I figured as much," Michael smirks and then lifts Gavin’s chin so that they’re eye level with one another, "Now’s not the time to get bashful, you little brat."

Gavin smiles, and is about to lean in and kiss him again. This is almost too good to be true, so he wants to get the most out of this dream before it ends.

Then their lips meet again, and he’s never been more content in all of his life.


End file.
